Chapter 163

The Soulmaker (I)

A woman stood at the very center of a wide, crumbling plaza, her sun-gilded hair falling long over her front and back, a crown of flames jetted on top of her forehead, a pair of smoldering eyes indifferently gazing forward. She was draped in red and golden robes, a phoenix-headed staff floating gently in front of her.

The party gathered at the edges of the plaza in preparations for a battle, waiting for the woman’s ‘guide’ to pop up in the form of notifications. The latter suddenly did appear, but it was vastly different than what they had expected.

//Congratulations!

Azara grants you a safe passage forward!

Congratulations! You have successfully cleared the three wings of the Castle, gaining access to its heart -- Hall of Soulfusage. You may now select one of the four buffs: Herald of the Living, Champion of Starlight, Ardent of the Maidens, or Ashen Calling.

You have furthermore been blessed by Azara: ‘Touch of the Flames’

-- increases all Fire-attribute damage by 30%; decreases cast speed across the board by 8%. Additionally, each strike has a 10% chance to unleash a Dragon’s Breath, dealing 200% of your weapon’s damage to all targets within 6 yards. 30 seconds cooldown.//

“... uh... what just happened?” Kramer asked, confused. Nobody answered him, though; not due to not wanting to, but because nobody knew the answer either.

“... endure,” the woman suddenly spoke in a fading voice as her figure began to grow ethereal. “For as long as you can. He’s coming.”

With the parting words, she vanished, leaving others as confused as ever. Everyone just plopped back onto the ground, the nerves they hid over the upcoming battle dissipating. The ground shook for a moment before it began quaking violently, forcing everyone to hold onto something as to not fall down; beyond the plaza, where a massive gap covered in mist existed, a bridge began to appear out of nowhere, built out of white-laden stone.

The mist blocking the view grew aside, revealing that the bridge led to the massive gates cast in ashen-gray, good thirty feet tall, walled off on both sides by even taller bricks. It was the entrance to the main portion of the castle -- though it was difficult to discern anything from the exterior, the Mana that was faintly seeping from within those walls was soul-crunching, forcing everyone to pause as frowns emerged on their faces.

A few moments later, though, they braved the first step forward, with the rest of them becoming much easier as they made their way across the bridge, avoiding looking sideways into the seeping abyss of smoke and black mist. The closer they approached the gate, the more oppressive did the general atmosphere become, making even breathing somewhat straining.

Just before they stepped off the bridge and onto a small patch of land dividing it with the gates, a notification flared in front of Emma’s screen, prompting her to come to a halt with the rest following her example right after.

//Warning!

It is still possible to retreat! Make a choice:

Proceed onwards; once you enter the Heart of the Castle, Hall of Soulfusage, it will be impossible to leave unless either the boss is defeated, or all of you die. Retreat back; by doing so, you will forfeit all the rewards you’ve obtained, including items, titles, levels, and companions. You will be kicked out to the Castle’s entrance, and will never be allowed to step back inside again!

Choose carefully!//

She quickly shared the warning with the rest of the group, but nary a soul was willing to forgo all that they had earned and go back, even some of the more cautious ones like Diya and Lukas. After all, despite the setbacks, they did defeat two rather difficult bosses with relative ease, suffering zero casualties in the process. Even if they had no doubts that the last boss will be by far most difficult, they were confident enough in being able to handle it.

After a brief discussion, Emma pressed ‘1’ on the notification window and moved forward, the gates of the castle opening wide. The entrance led to an upper-floor balcony overlooking a wide and spacious dip below illuminated by crystallized drops of liquid appearing frozen in the midair. The balcony curved into a set of stairs, fenced off with wooden spikes, on both sides that led down to the open hall.

At the center of a hall was a massive crystal, good fifteen feet tall, six, crimson beams linked to it, seemingly feeding it energy. The crystal spun ever-so-slowly, shimmering in a faint coat of silver light, though otherwise appeared harmless.

At the far front of the hall, sitting on top of a bone-carved throne, was a ten-feet-tall figure draped in black robes with scarlet lines running around the edges. A hollow set of six skulls floated nearby, almost appearing like security cameras with their ruby-like ‘eyes’. Above, a linen banner lay unfurled from the ceiling, long and straight, its edges shaven off by its age, lustrous colors lost beneath a layer of dust.

Everyone’s eyes slowly landed on the person sitting, with the latter remaining motionless throughout, as though there was nobody new inside. The figure casually rested its head on top of one of its arms, seemingly staring forward, at the massive crystal. The oppressive Mana that the group felt, they realized, wasn’t coming from the seated figure but rather from the crystal, making them sigh in relief for a moment.

Just as they were about to wind to the side and descend, they were swarmed by notifications screens that they were already half-expecting.

//Welcome to the Hall of Soulfusage, the Heart of the Castle!

Name: Moru’gh (Weakened) Race: Hallow

Level: ??

Vitality: ??? (Health: ???)

Class: Soulfused Necromancer

Note: Moru’gh is a Phantom-stage Boss -- he has no phases, cannot be tanked straightforwardly, and will use any of his Skills based on his judgment. Furthermore, as a Phantom-stage Boss, Moru’gh is immune to all non-essential Crowd Control.

Skills (Note: Due to insufficient party Levels, some Skills will not be displayed)

--Way of the Soulmaker-- Moru’gh summons a grandstanding of Souls from his pouch, up to 30. Each Soul has 1000 Health and lasts 9 seconds. If a Soul survives for 9 seconds, it explodes, dealing raid-wide 1000 damage and healing Moru’gh for thrice the amount. (14s Cooldown)

--Touch of Damnation-- Moru’gh marks a target with a ‘Damnation’ debuff, lasting 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, the target immediately explodes, dealing 6000 damage to everyone within 40 yards. The only way to dispel the debuff is to deal 60,000 damage to Moru’ghh in the span of 30 seconds. If successful, receive a raid-wide boon, increasing damage dealt by 20% for 15 seconds. (60s Cooldown)

--Arrays of Ethereal-- Moru’gh lines his six weapons above him, locking onto either six different targets or one specifically. After 2 seconds channel, the weapons will fire a beam each, dealing 1400 True Damage each and leaving a permanent ‘Soulcrushed’ debuff, decreasing the healing they receive by 45%(stacking). Damage can be blocked, reflected, and parried, but debuff always applies. (45s Cooldown)

--Marked For Sacrifice-- Moru’gh applies ride-wide debuff, ‘Sacrifice’ lasting until the end of the fight. Marked members take 1% of their Vitality as True Damage every 3 seconds, gaining additional stacks of debuff every 30 seconds that doubles the previous damage. Furthermore, each 10th stack of debuff will summon a ‘Grand Soul’ that will permanently haunt Moru’gh’s chosen target for the rest of the battle, dealing 300 damage every 2 seconds. (3d Cooldown)

--???-- ???

--Soul Link-- Moru’gh links two targets together, pooling their Vitality; for the remainder of a battle, the damage they take is doubled, but so is the healing. Furthermore, if one of the links dies, so does the other. In addition, at the expiration of the Link, both targets gain a general 35% boost to Speed (Move, Cast, Attack) for 12 seconds. Lasts 45 seconds. (80s Cooldown)

--Soulmake (18 Charges)-- Moru’gh fashions a Soul from Nether. Current level of Skill allows for: Paladins, Elementalists, Necromancers, Hellbowmen, Reapers, and Knights of Damnation. Can have up to 4 Souls out at the same time. Each Soul lasts 4 minutes.

--???--

--???--

--Toiling Bell-- Moru’gh summons a bell overhead that looms for 3 seconds before dropping onto the ground. Everyone caught within the crash site is killed instantly, their Souls automatically a victim of ‘Soulmake’. Otherwise, the bell rings 3 times upon crashing onto the ground, each ring dealing 400 raid-wide damage, and applying 33% Slow(stacking) that lasts for 7 seconds.

--Touch of Divinity-- as a former ‘???’, Moru’gh still retains some remnants of his past self. By sacrificing 99% of his current Vitality, he draws upon the residing strength, becoming immune to all Damage and Control skills for 3 minutes. In addition, he gains a temporary access to a set of high-level Skills: Eternal Torment, Pariah of Agony, Soulrip, Crown of Souls, Effigy of Malice, and ‘???’.

--Resurrection(3 charges remaining)-- Upon being dealt a killing blow, Moru’gh will awaken anew, restoring his Health and Soul Energy to 100%. (1y Cooldown).

Good Luck, Conquerors!//

A touch of silence befell everyone. Only the sounds of ever-speeding breathing could be heard and nothing else. Nobody dared move a muscle or step forward an inch, not even Emma or Senna or Kramer. They stood frozen in spot, their souls attempting to flee from their bodies, minds on the verge of cracking and breaking. They will die -- there was nothing else inside their minds but that realization. Even if they were ten, nay, even a hundred times stronger, they’d still die. Unless there was some uniform mechanic they were missing that would either cripple the boss or boost them, they were done. And, no matter how hard they tried to look for that mechanic... it wasn’t there.

“It does little to stand there hopeless, little lambs,” a grating voice spoke directly into their minds, taunting them. “Though sacrifices, I would still like to play. Perchance, I find the few of you amusing enough to replace my inept guards that failed to uphold their duty. Now, come. Descend, little Conquerors. We have a battle to relish in, and a feast after to look forward to.”